Keeper Review: A Wonderfully Weird Experience

Keeper is, to put it simply, unusual, so much so that I’m struggling to sum up exactly how it is that I feel. Double Fine Productions has crafted a moving experience that is undoubtedly moreish, with surprisingly compelling gameplay that pulls you though its eight-hour or so runtime. And yet, it’s one that’ll leave you scratching your head by the time the credits roll wondering what it is that you just experienced.

The title revolves around a lighthouse on legs accompanied by a bird by the name of Twig. Keeper’s dialogueless narrative revolves around the lighthouse wishing to reach the top of a mountain. To do so, you must traverse a psychedelic world filled with weird and wacky creatures, all of which are under threat by some kind of unexplained corruption.

The gameplay is simple and I thought perhaps, at first, too simple. The opening sequence tasked me with walking and that alone. I thought to myself, “Is that it?” Thankfully, before long, a little more is demanded of you but Keeper isn’t exactly a complex game. Most of its puzzles revolve around the use of your light which you can direct using the right dualstick, using the right trigger to focus your light. This can burn that aforementioned corruption, eradicating flora and fauna based obstacles in your way.

Occasionally, that can be as simply as blasting what lies ahead of you. Elsewhere, you’ll need to explore to find the various weak points of an obstacle in order to proceed. Twig, your winged companion, is also a great help. You see, Keeper is totally void of traditional enemies. You don’t have a health bar nor will you particularly engage in combat; Keeper’s gameplay revolves entirely around traversal and puzzle solving, and Twig is a key part of the latter.

Keeper, Credit / Xbox Game Studios

You can press ‘X’ to direct Twig to certain interactive objects. They’ll glisten when you’re standing nearby. These can be levers you need to direct into place, cranks you need to spin, or battery type items you’ll need to transport in order to activate machinery blocking your progression. There’s very little that’s overly complex. Many puzzles involve activating glowing stones using your light that change the time period you’re in. There’s, obviously, the present day, as well as the past and the future. In the past, you’ll more likely find that the terrain of the area you’re in is more intact whilst in the future, you can make use of a ghostly (in other words, dead) Twig who can use their spectral form to bypass obstacles.

I am a fan of puzzle solving and its inclusion hugely works in Keeper’s favour. The walking aspects of the game can feel a little passive, so the occasional wake-up call every now and then was hugely welcomed. Keeper is a linear game but oftentimes, major puzzles would take place in mini hubs prompting you to explore. One late stage example had me gathering a small posse of little fellas. Why? I didn’t know. But there’s a joy that comes with Keeper’s decision to leave you to your own devices. As I fully explored the lagoon style area I was in, it became clear to me what I had to do, and there’s a great sense of achievement that comes with that ‘no hand holding’ style of gameplay.

There are also developments in the traversal department although I’m loath to delve into those for fear of ruining key story beats. I will praise them though as they kept me on my toes and infused the game with new life in its final acts when, admittedly, the endless trudging could have grown tiresome.

I should stress that movement is all very intuitive and fluid; the titular lighthouse could clamber over obstacles with ease so there’s a wonderful flow and sense of progression in the game. For the most part, Keeper does operate with a fixed camera though. I can understand why that’s the case. This is clearly a game that yearns to feel cinematic - and there are some really lovely shots. You may enter a new biome only for the camera to sweep out, revealing a huge creature gliding past you that wouldn’t look out of place in the works of Studio Ghibli. I did find, however, that the camera was a slight hindrance during those more open puzzle hubs. I couldn’t easily survey my surroundings to see what I might’ve missed, prompting me to traverse the entire area again until I felt the camera permitted me to see what I sought.

Keeper, Credit / Xbox Game Studios

It’s a minor grievance though as I, ultimately, got on just fine. It’s Keeper’s story that I sense will be its most polarising aspect. As you might’ve picked up, it’s a title that’s very similar to Journey. You’ll climb a mountain, travelling through somewhat of a threatened and lost civilisation as you do so. These are undoubtedly games where the devs hope that you project your own kind of meaning onto the events that unfold. And while I will not touch upon it, Keeper’s ending does offer some form of closure. Yet I finished the title with just a tiny smidge of dissatisfaction.

It’s hardly as if I wanted everything tied up in a shiny bow and spelt out to me, but Keeper’s world is so thoroughly bizarre that there are certain aspects of the story that it can be difficult to apply meaning to, even if you look at them rather abstractly. Many of the creatures you encounter are either biological beings, developed from nature, or machinery based. There’s no impression that humans ever resided in this world, leaving you a tad baffled as to how a sentiment lighthouse comes into play.

It would also have been nice to have received a hint that, at the very least, teased where the corruption terrorising this island may have come from, unless it’s there and I was simply too silly to spot it. Perhaps Keeper is a game whose meaning will unfold in time as players put the pieces together. Throughout the game, the eagle-eyed amongst you may uncover old monuments which you can shine a light on to piece back together, unlocking game achievements. I sensed these may reveal tidbits about this world’s lore although if they do, I was none the wiser.

Keeper, Credit / Xbox Game Studios

While Keeper won’t offer you a fully fledged sense of closure, it’s most definitely an experience I’d recommend to anyone looking to unwind. It’s a slow, meditative game that’ll take you out of your own world and into one that is equal parts intoxicatingly beautiful and utterly baffling. The simple yet compelling gameplay is surprisingly engrossing. I may have rolled credits feeling baffled, but Keeper isn’t a game I’ll forget any time soon.

Pros: Enjoyable puzzles, good length, intriguing premise with fluid gameplay that keeps things moving

Cons: Fixed camera can be a hindrance at times, a lack of answers on the game’s lore may irritate some

For fans of: Journey, Planet of Lana, Spirit of the North, Sword of the Sea

7/10: Very Good

Keeper is out today, on 17 October, on Xbox Series X/S (version tested) and PC. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.